Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham is seeking to reclaim funds allocated to schools under Labor’s Building the Education Revolution scheme that have since closed down.
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In response, Federal opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek accused the government of distraction prior to Gonski 2.0 funding passing through the Senate.
Under the BER program, which ended in 2013, schools were allocated funding for renovations or construction.
In Tasmania, Meander Primary was allocated $925,000, but closed down in 2013. The property is now being considered for a contentious drug rehabilitation centre.
Maydena Primary closed in 2012, during the BER program’s run-time, and was allocated $300,000. Waratah Primary was awarded $50,000 but shut in 2009.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said his department was working to “stop any further waste and recover taxpayer’s hard-earned money should a school close”.
Ms Plibersek said on Sunday that the government was trying to “distract attention from the fact that they're trying to cut school funding by $22 billion”.
“The Building the Education Revolution program was a fantastic program, almost 10,000 schools across Australia had their facilities upgraded,” she said.
“For many schools, it was the first spending they'd seen on their grounds and on their buildings in decades.”
A Federal Education Department spokesperson said recovery of funds was initiated if the department determined the conditions of funds had been met, which was “ultimately consistent with the BER program objectives”.
The spokesperson said the terms of contracts between the department and schools made during the BER program was not publicly available.
The spokesperson did not clarify how funds were being recovered from schools that had shut down, but said the block grant authorities in each state and territory are responsible for funding.
